Turkey: Syrian businesses set ablaze after reports child was sexually abused

Violence erupted in the central Turkish city of Kayseri on Sunday night as residents attacked vehicles, businesses and homes belonging to Syrian refugees. The unrest followed reports that a Syrian man had allegedly sexually abused a child.

Social media footage depicted chaotic scenes, with Turkish residents using bulldozers to crush motorcycles and cars, setting businesses ablaze and stoning houses. All the properties were allegedly owned by Syrians.

Clashes with security forces ensued, and some protesters chanted slogans demanding the resignation of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

"What happened in Kayseri is an attempted pogrom," Reha Ruhavioglu, a political analyst based in Turkey, said in a social media post. 

According to Anadolu Agency, 14 police officers and one firefighter were wounded during the disturbances. The agency reported that a 26-year-old man, identified by his initials IA, allegedly abused his cousin, a seven-year-old Syrian girl, in a toilet in Kayseri’s Melikgazi district.

Kayseri provincial police chief Atanur Aydin was seen addressing the angry crowd from a balcony, promising that the state had "received the message" and pledging to visit the neighbourhood weekly to ensure safety.

Tugce Yilmaz, a Turkish journalist, noted that the police chief felt the need to announce that the child was not Turkish.

The Kayseri governor's office said a Syrian national had been detained and a child had been taken under state protection.

The Turkish family ministry said: "The victim, her siblings, and her mother were taken under state protection after procedures at the police station. As the ministry, we will intervene in the legal process and closely follow up to ensure that the criminal receives the heaviest punishment."

📍 Kayseri pic.twitter.com/PK45VD2abT

— Halid Abdo (@HalidAbdo) July 1, 2024

The Kayseri chief public prosecutor's office has launched an investigation into the incident, and nine people from the suspect and victim’s families have been sent to a deportation centre, Anadolu reported. Additionally, police are investigating people who shared “provocative posts” on social media.

A court in Kayseri imposed a broadcast ban on the incident on Sunday night.

Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya on Monday said citizens acted illegally, which he said did not suit “our human values” and damaged houses, workplaces and vehicles belonging to Syrian nationals.

“During the intervention of our security forces in these protests, 67 people were detained,” he said. “The crowd that gathered dispersed after 2am”

Turkey, which hosts around four million refugees, including 3.6 million Syrians, has seen increasing tensions as economic difficulties mount.

Syrian refugees are often scapegoated for the country's economic woes, including high inflation and the depreciation of the Turkish lira. They are also blamed for various societal issues, such as sexual harassment and looting, particularly following last year’s deadly earthquake.

More than 500,000 Syrians are registered in Istanbul, with cities in the south like Gaziantep, Sanliurfa, and Hatay also hosting large refugee populations. Since 2022, the Turkish government has been forcibly deporting thousands of Syrians back to areas in northern Syria controlled by Turkish forces to alleviate domestic pressure.

On Friday, Erdogan indicated a willingness to initiate dialogue with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, despite previously labelling him a dictator and butcher.

The Turkish government aims to voluntarily return between 1 million to 1.5 million Syrians to Assad-controlled areas as part of a broader strategy that could include re-establishing official ties with Damascus. However, Syrian officials have demanded a complete withdrawal of Turkish troops from northern Syria before negotiating such terms.